Just because you are an “employee-at-will” does not mean you don’t have rights

Most employees are employee-at-will which means that they can be fired at any time, for any reason or no reason at all. And no advance warning is required. The law generally presumes that you are an employee-at-will unless you can prove otherwise, usually through written documents relating to your employment.

Anyone who gets fired has reason to be upset and even believe the reasons are unfair. Unfortunately, not everyone who gets fired can sue their former employer. In many instances, even though the firing may be wrong and unfair, it may all be perfectly legal so there is nothing you can do about it.

But just because you are employee-at-will does not mean that you are a slave. Employees do have some rights. You have the right to get paid for the all the hours you work and you have the right to work in an environment free of sexual or racial harassment. Employment discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, disability is prohibited.

If your employer is subject to federal and state laws prohibiting job discrimination, you cannot be fired because of certain characteristics, such as your race, religion, or gender. Similarly, you cannot be fired because you have complained about illegal activity, about discrimination or harassment, or about health and safety violations in the workplace And you cannot be fired for exercising a variety of legal rights, including the right to take family and medical leave, to take leave to serve in the military, or to take time off work to vote or serve on a jury.